"Oh no, Kaitlyn and Paul broke up?" I couldn't believe it. Kaitlyn was my sister-in-law.
My husband Trevor nodded, "Yeah and the apartment is in his name. He wants her out this weekend."
"That's crazy where does he expect her to go?" I asked.
"I was thinking if you are ok with it we could let her stay in our guest room until she can find a place?"
"Of course sweetie! I think it would be great to have her stay with us." I felt terrible for Trevor's sister, but I was excited. I've always thought Kaitlyn was the coolest, but in the four years I had been with Trevor, I still had never gotten the chance to spend quality time with her. This might finally be the opportunity to find that friendship with her I had always wanted.
The next few days were a whirlwind of activity as we rushed to move all of Kaitlyn's things into our place. We got the last of it moved over Saturday evening. It was late, so we decided just to order a pizza.
As we waited for it we all changed out of our dirty clothes. Kaitlyn came out wearing these loose fitting pink pajama bottoms with purple polka-dots and a small white tank. Her blond hair was put up into a loose ponytail. She had removed her makeup, but I found it striking how pretty she still was without it. Fair and flawless skin, full lips, and large pretty blue eyes. They were a bright blue, just like the sky in summer.
Kaitlyn looked over to me staring at her and said, "Brooke, you look so cute!"
"Really?" I asked, kinda taken by surprise. I was so busy admiring her, I wasn't expecting the compliment. I just wore a pair of short shorts, a basic t-shirt, and had my hair in a tight ponytail. Nothing special, I thought.
Kaitlyn laughed, "Don't act so surprised! I've always told Trevor here you're too beautiful for him." She walked past, messing up his hair and winking at me.
"Watch it lil sis, I can still kick your butt!" Trevor teased in return. I'm 26 and Trevor is 30. Kaitlyn is the same age as me, so sometimes I forget she's his younger sister.
Kaitlyn teased back, "Nope! It's two against one now, buttercup! Try to pick a fight now and Brooke and I will have you crying for mercy like a little baby!"
Just then the doorbell rang, and Trevor got up to get the pizza.
"Saved by the bell," said Kaitlyn. Trevor just rolled his eyes and laughed. No doubt about it, they were definitely siblings.
She came over by me and plopped down on the couch next to me. She looked at me and with a little smile said, "This couch can be for the cool people."
Trevor came back with the pizza. As we started eating Kaitlyn spoke up saying, "I really appreciate you guys letting me stay. It means so much! My entire world is upside down and," she began to tear up a little. "It's really nice not to be alone. Thank you."
Trevor walked over, brushing a tear away and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Kaitlyn, you're my sister and you can always count on me. I love you." They embraced in a hug.
"I love you too," Kaitlyn sniffled and waived me over to join the hug. "And I love you, Brooke. Thanks for being an amazing sister-in-law and letting me stay."
"Of course," I replied. "Kaitlyn, you are welcome with us for as long as you need."
"Thanks," Kaitlyn rested her hand on my knee. "You know Brooke, I've always wanted to get to know you better. It wasn't always easy when I was with Paul, but maybe now we'll finally get a chance."
It thrilled me to hear her say that, "I was hoping for the same thing. How about tomorrow I help you unpack, give us a chance to chat a bit, you know?"
"Thank you, Brooke, I would love that!"
Soon we all turned in for the night. All the moving had us exhausted. It is a good thing I was so exhausted; I was so excited to hang out with Kaitlyn the next day I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep otherwise.
In the morning that followed, I felt like the school dork that got invited over to the cool kids' table to hang out with the most popular girl in school. I wasn't sure why I idealized Kaitlyn so much, but I did. She was like the kind of girl you both wanted to be and be with.
After showering and breakfast, Kaitlyn and I dove into her boxes while Trevor did yard work outside. She had her hair up again, this time in a messy top bun that was absolutely adorable. She had some ripped blue jeans and a violet t-shirt on. She was one of those girls that made any hairstyle or outfit amazing; I was always jealous of that. It also embarrassed me I was so obsessed with her, I only hoped she couldn't tell.
I was helping Kaitlyn put away her clothes. I opened a box that was filled with different rock band shirts from various concert tours. "Have you really seen all these bands live?"
"Yeah! Paul and I used to go to a lot of concerts. He'd always buy us shirts even though they were ridiculously overpriced." She took one shirt and looked at it. "It really was a fun five years. For now, I think this box can just go into the closet."
"I'm sorry if I brought up hard memories."
"No, Brooke, you are totally fine. It's hard, but it was time for me to move on."
"Mind if I ask how things ended? You two seemed to get along so well and then him wanting you out so fast." I was curious and hoped she didn't mind me asking.
"It's ok, I don't mind. We got along really well and I don't know, maybe that was the problem." She laughed at herself and continued, "Silly statement I know.. The thing is we were so in sync, had all this stuff in common, we were never bored, which is big considering all the time were together! And that should be enough, more than enough, but it wasn't. If everything can be so perfect yet not be enough, then I wondered if I was meant for something different. Maybe what should be perfect on paper isn't really what I want deep down."
"What do you think you want?" I asked.
"That's just it, I have no idea. If our perfect relationship wasn't fulfilling me now, then I realized it never would. I knew the only way I was going to figure it out was to move on." Kaitlyn shook her head and said, "When I explained it to Paul, he didn't take it well. That is why he wanted me out so fast. I really didn't want to hurt him, but I felt like I had to do this. Do I sound crazy yet?"
"No, not at all Kaitlyn!" I reassured her. "I think I that makes sense and I think you did the right thing."
"Thank you," Kaitlyn said. I had opened another box, this had her underwear in it. She was hanging up some shirts and nonchalantly told me, "Oh, the panties can just go in the top left drawer."
I felt the material as I put them away and thought she had cute panties. Then realized it was really weird to think such a thing. Geez Brooke, way to be a creep! I put more away, including this sexy little black pair with like this little chain for a waistband. What did Kaitlyn look like in those panties? Oh my god! Stop it, Brooke! Stop it! I thought to myself as my internal monologue screamed at me. Quickly finishing the task at hand, I closed the drawer and began to help Kaitlyn hang the remaining shirts.
"You have great taste, I love your clothes." I said to Kaitlyn.
"Hey girl, borrow them anytime. We're about the same size, so I know any of this would look fantastic on you!"
I blushed at her words and replied, "Oh thanks, I wouldn't look nearly as great as you though."
"What are you talking about? You are so hot!"
"Me hot? Ha! I don't think so!"
"You are! I love your butt, it's perfect I just want to like smack it every time you walk by!"
